A special exhibit at the National Museum of Prehistory in Taitung details a search for gold that Dutch explorers launched in 1638 off the east coast of Taiwan, though they returned empty-handed.
The exhibition, titled “Voyage to the Oriental Treasure Island: Dutch meet Formosa Eastern Indigenous,” is aimed at shining more light on the nation’s role in the age of European maritime exploration.
The exhibition is a joint collaboration between 12 groups, including the Netherlands Trade and Investment Office.
Photo: Huang Ming-tang, Taipei Times
Office Representative Guy Wittich said Dutch sailors disembarked in Hualien 378 years ago to find gold, but they returned to their ships empty-handed.
Citing historical records provided by Dutch government archives, Wittich said that as opposed to the ease of travel of today, the Dutch expedition had to fight their way past numerous Aboriginal villages.
“They didn’t know, however, that the gold had originated in what is present-day New Taipei City’s Jiufen District [九份],” Wittich said.
Photo: Huang Ming-tang, Taipei Times
The exhibition shows how global trade involved Aboriginal villages on the east coast, the museum said.
The museum has made a one-to-five ratio replica of a Dutch ship as the exhibit’s main attraction, while it features hand-drawn maps from the 17th century.
The exhibition also has drawings of how the Dutch explorers saw the original residents of Isla Formosa, the Portuguese name for Taiwan, a screen covered in beaten gold sheets and a silver coin.
The exhibition is considered an important one for the museum and has been in the planning for two years, it said, adding that the exhibition is to run through December.
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
The long-awaited Taichung aquarium is expected to open next year after more than a decade of development. The building in Cingshui District (清水) is to feature a large ocean aquarium on the first floor, coral display area on the second floor, a jellyfish tank and Dajia River (大甲溪) basin display on the third, a river estuary display and restaurant on the fourth, and a cafe and garden on the fifth. As it is near Wuci Fishing Port (梧棲漁港), many are expecting the opening of the aquarium to bring more tourism to the harbor. Speaking at the city council on Monday, Taichung City Councilor
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese